David D. Olson

Board Secretary

David Olson is the Chairman and CEO of Wind River Capital LLC (Jackson, WY), a boutique merchant bank serving financial institutions. Previously, he was the Vice Chairman of the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) at Piper Jaffray & Co. (PJC). Olson has extensive experience in investment banking and private equity.

Olson came to PJC with over 25 years of experience on Wall Street in management positions. He was Credit Suisse First Boston’s Chairman of Investment Banking for the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to CSFB’s merger with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, he held a number of senior executive positions at DLJ, most recently serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the firm’s Asia-Pacific region. During the 1990s, he was co-head of DLJ’s financial institutions group and the firm’s Chicago investment banking office.

Olson holds a JD from Northwestern University School of Law, where he is a Life Trustee, and a BA degree from Wesleyan University, where he is a Trustee Emeritus. Additionally, Olson was a long-serving board member for the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago). 

Olson’s interests in brain research stems from family experience with dementia and stroke. He believes supporting scientific research is a primary means to advancing breakthroughs that will transform lives.